Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-01-09

of the winter, and diverts mis- mind by
attending to his little farm. When a. mis-
Ohio home he spends much Of his time in
the open air in pedestrian tours about the
surrounding country, or in his favorite
amusement of driving. He keeps large
stable of horses, big heavy brutes, and he
makes them earn their living; for he is in
no sense lover of horses except for the
use he can put them too. and probably
never owned q fast horse IN his life. He
Judges their value as he does that of men,
by the amount of work they can do.
Though great part OF his time is spent
in recreation 1t must not be understood,
however, that he does no work at his
country home. On the contrary he is 8
hard worker. The house is most cOnVen-
lently arranged and every comfort thai
money can buy or refined taste suggest
NAV be found. Here are collected his
library and many of Ills private papers,
and many of the great speeches delivered
in the senate, were prepared ia this quiet
country retreat.
Of the public life of the distinguished
flnancier we need not speak, ler he has
been so long before the eyes Of the world
that his political career Is familiar to
every one. But the popular estimate OF
the character of John Sherman would,
perhaps, undergo a change if the people
would pause an instant and look into mis-
private life Those who nave met the
Ohio senator in MS public capacity have
found him cold and a trlfe unSympa-
thetic, and they have left his pr. senCe
with an unfavorable impression OF his
character. | find 10 my experience with
public men that they may be divided into
two classes. The one is always on the
hunt for popularity with the people;
they always have tl8tteriDg word
q stock of meaningless politenes5 and a
p8tronizing familiarity that, strange to
say, makes them many friends. The
other, aud by far the smaller class, are
very different. They express themselves
| in the feWest words possible; they have
no time to waste, and seem to consider
public business as a business and not the
plsything Cf an hour. 1t is not within my
province to say which Of thsse classes
have the correct idea Of the duties CT pub
! lie men. All cf Us know that the TWO
classes exist, and it is FOR every one tc
| have his own opinion about the matter
! Be that opinion what IL may, we have only
to say that John Sherman belongs to tht
| latter class.
But if he is cold and hearLless and, per.
haps, calculating in his public life, the
distinguished senator is another man
when he passes within the portals of bis
simple home. And it is no misnomer to
call it simple home, even if its MISTER
is rated IS twice millionaire. The
Washington residence of the president
pro tenn of the senate is situated on X
street, one of the most fashionable thor
0ughfares in the city. The house is built
Of Impressed brick painted brown, with
| foundations and basement OF stone, and
| facings of the same material. The win
dows and doors are large and old fash
| io-ed, with rounded caps and transoms,
and plain stone steps with iron ratings
wind up to the little porch which leads
into the high ,roGt door. Altogether il
forms strange and rather pleasing con-
trast to mauv of the magnificent dwell
ings which have cen erected around 1t.
The interior Of the house corresponds
with its oldfashioned exterior. Every
thing is very comfortable and convenient,
but there is nothing ike Luxury il the
surroundings. In the psrlOrs We ind a
| few paintings and etchings, selected with
the best of taste. Then there is Il choice
of collections Of bric-a-braC and sp CT
mems of ladies' needle work, which III
their arrangement show the refined last
of g woman. The usual tables, sofas and
other ordinary furniture complete the
furnishing of the p4rlOrS. Back II these
rooms, and running across the entire rear
OF the house is the dining room, that most
important apar ment Of the residence Of q
public man. Senator Sherman does not
entertain as frequently now as he did
hen he was secretary Of the treasury;
his hOspitalities being for the most part
confined t. small receptions aod select
dinner parties. The family is small, con-
si>ting Of but three mem 1erS, the head OF
the house, his wife, lady Of great p"pu-
lsrily, and en- adopted daughter, young
lady of much intelligence and Ietine ment
The taste of the lsdies, however, d. not
seem to incline much toward social
pleasures, and they live very quiet lift,
taking very little part in the whirl of
social life that goes on so necessarily
around them.
Across the hall from the parlors is the
study aud library, where the senator
spends most of his time when st home.
He can be found here nearly every even
ing, and with his wife pursues his read
ing. Mr.. Sherman is perhaps one of the
greatest readers in public life, and not
only is he a resder, but an earnest student
as well. Best les keeping abreast of cur
rent affairs by means OF large list OF
newspapers, he keeps well informed on
current literature, and is a voracious stu
dent of every new work on finance. He
is also great reader of the autobiog-
raphies of distinguished statesmen and